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10 electric vehicle benefits you might not know about…but should

We all know the direct benefits of owning an electric vehicle – cleaner, cheaper, smoother  travel, getting to drive in carpool lanes, tax rebates, not being a douchebag to the environment, etc.

But after owning EVs for 5 years now, I’ve run into some 10 benefits that people probably don’t think of when deciding between purchasing and EV, hybrid or internal combustion engine. Drumroll please:

  1. I’ll probably never need to repair or replace brakes because I, like most EV owners, use regenerative braking almost exclusively. Not only is there obvious cost savings but also time savings as well. Also regen is a nice backup plan if my brakes ever decide to fail.
  2. More space! EV powertrains require a lot less space (even with the batteries) which allow similarly sized cars to have cavernous interiors and things like Tesla’s Frunk or the Chevy Bolt’s outsized cabin space.
  3. I can start my car heater with the garage door down in winter. Some vehicles like the Tesla let you start your heater remotely from your bed or even on a timer to make sure you get into your car at the temperature you like. With an EV, the garage door doesn’t even have to open until you are inside and warm and cozy. Even ICE cars with remote start have to have an open garage door in order to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
  4. Pulling an ICE car into the garage everyday used to leave an exhaust smell. My garage doesn’t stink like exhaust or petroleum. Neither does the stuff we store in the garage. In fact, my whole driveway is cleaner and there is no better time to see that than in the winter. The snow on my driveway is white, not black with exhaust soot. My kids don’t have to play in that soot either. Except that spot where that damn idling UPS truck sat. Speaking of snow, EV engines acceleration control is much better than ICE.
  5. I can “idle” for hours with AC or heat on without killing myself or the people around me – especially in enclosed spaces. The battery lasts for days! There is no noise and yet all of the car’s electronics and HVAC can be full blast.
  6. With an inexpensive inverter, I can power most of my house in an outage for days. Sure you can often do the same with an ICE car but not from within your garage.
  7. Quiet! The stereo and conversation inside a driving EV sounds way better when there is no ICE motor struggling through gears. It is also safer because you can hear much more of what’s happening outside. The lack of noise in general is comforting.
  8. When you climb up a hill you don’t get that catalytic smell in the car – well at least not from your own car, the car next to you obviously stinks though.
  9. Traffic jams! You actually get better mileage sitting in traffic, not worse like ICE. Regen and an efficient motor are a whole lot easier than gears, motors, etc. Throw in some autopilot and you might actually enjoy it.
  10.  Gears and transmission! There isn’t any. That means no jerking or loud revving when accelerating or slowing down. No repairs, clutch or any of that nonsense.

If you are an EV driver let me know anything I missed (update: wow, 20 more good ones in comments) and make sure to share this post with anyone considering making an EV purchase. Who knows, we might be able to bring some people over to the EV side.

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Avatar for Seth Weintraub Seth Weintraub

Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek sites. Tesla Model 3, X and Chevy Bolt owner…5 ebikes and counting